Born of Silence (League, #5) (League: Nemesis Rising)

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

[Cocktails and Books]

I was excited to get this book. I thought, "Finally! Darling's story." Little did I know that Darling's story was going to be one of the absolute toughest books I've ever read.

Sherrilyn Kenyon has a gift in writing characters and storylines that absolutely rip you to shreds before you see the light at the end of the tunnel and know there's a happily ever after. With Darling's story, it's about a man who is forced to live a lie to help protect a family he feels doesn't care one iota about him. A man who finds the one person who makes him feel like he's the man he's supposed to be only to have that person devastate him in the worst way possible. Finally, a man who must learn that what you see at face value isn't what the people who matter most use to judge you.

Darling had a very hard, very cruel life. Forced to grow up when he father was assassinated by his uncle, Darling did what he had to in order to protect his mother, brothers and sister. They all, in their own way, resented Darling for what he did or the lies he was forced to live, but only because of their impact on them...not necessarily what it meant Darling gave up for them.

Luckily for Darling, the one thing he was ever grateful to his uncle for was hiring Nykarian Quikades to protect him. The moment Nykarian discovered what was happening behind closed doors to Darling, he brought him under his wing and he joined the Sentella as a founding member. Under the identity of Kere, he became an outlaw and protector of those like his alter ego. It was while fighting the good fight with the Resistence battling his uncle's rule that Darling met the woman that would bring him the greatest pleasure and the ultimate pain of betrayal, Zarya - leader of the Resistance. He loved her and wanted to marry her, but he hoped the truth about his identity (something he hoped to reveal to her after his attempt to win his freedom from his uncle) wouldn't cause her to leave him.

I didn't think Zarya would ever be redeemed, in my eyes, after what happened to Darling. As Darling fought for his life and then begged for his death, it was Zarya laughter on the other side of a door that was his ultimate undoing. It was Zarya lack of follow up on what her people were doing with their prisoner, that caused the biggest issue for me. If maybe she had bothered to ask what they were doing she may have found the person she spent five months trying to locate and negated all the truly horrible, horrible, horrible (I can't say it enough...horrible) things that Darling had to endure. While Zarya doesn't deserve all of the blame in what happened, she does hold a lion share of it just because she never stopped to ask what was happening. That said, Zarya was the one that was able to bring Darling back from the brink. And when I say brink, I mean holding onto the edge by the nail of his pinky finger brink. Darling was a man who seemed broken beyond repair. It took the love, compassion and undeniable regret of the woman he loved with all his being to bring him back.

Darling also had a very unique relationship with his best friend, Maris. Forced to live the lie of being gay, it was Maris who helped Darling pull off the charade. Maris was the only person who knew Darling Cruel for his true self and would go to any lengths to ensure Darling was happy. While Darling loved Maris as a brother-in-arms, Maris was in love with Darling. Darling knew of Maris' feelings, but never exploited them. He was the one person he trusted and would protect. So it wasn't a surprise to find that while Darling skirted on the edges of sanity, it was Maris who could still connect with Darling and Maris who knew that it would be Zarya to save him. I loved Maris for knowing exactly what to do to save that man that he loved, even if what would save Darling wasn't him. It was a truly selfless act.

This was, by no means, an easy book to read. The storyline had dealt with prejudices and abuse that would have pushed a less stronger person over the edge well before it did Darling. The prejudices by the people that Darling has sworn to protect are probably the worst. Not only do the subjects of his governorship resent him and believe the lies spread about him, so do his family. The name calling and disregard for privacy are very, very hard to take at times. The abuse Darling suffered was just as gut wrenching. It truly demonstrated the strength of Darling's character that he was able to survive and become the born leader he was at the end.

An absolutely fabulous read. It won't be easy to get through, but the journey Sherrilyn Kenyon takes us on it well worth it. As with all the other Sentella members, Darling has to scrap bottom before he can get his happily ever after. His bottom was truly horrible, but in the end, it made his happily ever after well worth it.